Monday, July 20, 2015

RECIPES USING THIS WEEKS FRESH PRODUCE!

This refreshing, light salad is wonderful on its own, but also great with whole wheat pita bread (or tortilla) and plain Greek yogurt. I also enjoyed it on a bed of mixed greens, with a little bit of olive oil and vinegar as dressing.

INGREDIENTS

3 cucumbers, seeded and chopped

3 tomatoes, seeded and chopped

1 red onion, chopped

⅓ cup finely chopped fresh dill

3 tablespoons white wine vinegar

¼ cup olive oil

1 lime, juiced

1 teaspoon minced garlic

½ cup crumbled feta cheese

salt and pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

In a good sized bowl, toss all of the ingredients together. Season with salt and pepper. If you have time, cover and store in the refrigerator for a few hours to let the flavors blend.

NOTES:

My dill plant dried up long ago (RIP), so I bought one of those Living Herbs packages of dill at the grocery store and used almost the entire package for this salad.PREPARATION TIPS: Taste each cucumber before chopping it up! If you find one that has bitter skin, peel it before dicing. One of my three cucumbers, strangely, tasted bitter and I wish I had removed the skin on it before adding it to the rest.At first, I chopped the tomatoes and cucumbers into pretty big chunks, but I later found that I enjoyed the salad more when they were chopped more finely (see the cucumber salad on top of the mixed greens). I suggest chopping them into small pieces from the beginning.MAKE IT DAIRY FREE: Skip out on the feta.

Cut zucchini into quarter slices or bite sized pieces. (If you're using large zucchini, cut away the seeds and most of the white part.) Steam zucchini until barely tender/crisp, about 3 minutes, then drain very well. (You can plunge the steamed zucchini into water with ice cubes to stop the cooking if you're in a hurry, but I don't always do that.)

While zucchini is cooking, open olives and artichoke hearts and dump into a colander to drain well. (Draining the zucchini and olives well is essential or the finished salad will be watery.) Chop the red bell pepper and red onion into bite-sized pieces.

Combine zucchini, olives, artichoke hearts, red pepper and red onion in plastic or glass container with a lid (or use a Ziploc bag.) Pour dressing over, just enough to cover veggies, and stir gently. (I usually only use part of the dressing to marinate the veggies and then stir in a little more dressing when I serve it.)

Marinate in refrigerator 4-8 hours. If you can turn it over once in a while to keep the vegetables covered with dressing that would be great, but it's not essential. Just before serving stir in a little of the reserved dressing. Sprinkle the salad with more freshly grated Parmesan cheese when serving if desired.

At the risk of sounding like a cheese snob, let me say that this is best with freshly grated cheese. I like to grate it on the large side of the grater for the final 1/4 cup and serve the salad with the grated cheese not mixed in. However if all you have is pre-grated Parmesan, not to worry. It will still be yummy.

Bring about 3 quarts of water to a boil. Add the beans, return to a boil, and simmer until crisp-tender, about 3 to 4 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the beans, garlic, sage, a pinch of the salt and several grinds of pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the beans are browned in places, about 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the pine nuts, lemon zest, and prosciutto. Season with lemon juice and zest, and add more salt and pepper to taste.